The Fiery Familiar
by LZW
Summary: Kirche wanted a familiar, one that would suit her flames of passions and fought for what he believed in, the summoning spell was happy to oblige and literally pulled a man straight out of hell to be her familiar. The Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace, has arrived… OP Ace. Adopted From: Trace Carter Cover Art By: Moondrophime
1. Chapter 1: A New World

A/N: I have adopted this story from 'Trace Carter'. If you want to read the original it is called 'A Fiery Turn of Events'.

* * *

Within the void of limbo, a lone figure drifted through the emptiness. He wore no shirt, showing his muscular figure with a large circular scar on his chest and back. He wore black shorts with a loose orange belt with a belt buckle that had a red 'A' emblazoned on it. Finally, he wore a necklace of red pearls and had a tattoo that read ASCE on his left arm.

This man was Portgas D Ace, also known as Fire Fist Ace, famed pirate that held a bounty of 550,000,000 Bellies before his death while protecting the one he called his brother in the battle of Marineford. Upon his death, he found himself within this Limbo. As he drifted through the void, he heard a voice calling out.

 _'I call to my familiar that burns with fire. One who fights with passion for what he believes in. I call across the vast distance for you to come to my side!'_

'I wonder what that was about? Sounded like someone was calling out to me.'

Suddenly a bright green portal appeared in front of him and engulfed him. When the light faded the void was empty once more...

* * *

At the Tristain Academy of Magic, the second year students were gathered for the Springtime Summoning Ceremony to summon their familiars. Many different creatures were summoned ranging from a Frog to a Mole to a large blue Dragon and even a Bugbear. Because of this, one of the students was a bit nervous and moaned in despair

"I'm going to fail…"

"I wonder how epic your failure will be then, Zero Louise."

"Just you wait Kirche, I'll summon something so powerful that no one will ever make fun of me again!"

"I'm sure it will a most extraordinary familiar Louise, I'm looking forward to it."

Louise grit her teeth in anger but little did she know how wrong her words were. Kirche stepped forward onto the circle that had been made for the summoning and raised her wand.

"I call to my familiar that burns with fire. One who fights with passion for what he believes in. I call across the vast distance for you to come to my side!"

Soon a green portal appeared and deposited Ace who looked around and smiled.

"Is this the afterlife? It looks pretty nice."

The strange summon had attracted quite a bit of attention from the students.

"A human? Has this ever happened before?"

"I don't think so," said another.

"What did he say?"

"I couldn't understand him."

"Miss Zerbst, please finish the ritual."

Kirche nodded at Professor Colbert and proceeded.

"My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar."

Kirche then leaned down and planted a kiss on Ace's lips.

"What was that for?" asked Ace in surprise.

Suddenly Ace felt a sensation on his head that he hadn't felt since the battle of Marineford, burning. His forehead felt like Akainu was using his magma to carve letters into it. He grit his teeth to prevent himself from crying out in pain and flames danced along his body, surprising the students. Though something was wrong, the Devil Fruit which held Ace's soul would not give it up, in an inferno of fire, the runes were burned off him and there was no trace left of the runic words. Panting, Ace looked up and demanded an explanation.

"What was that!?"

Kirche merely looked at the man in curiousity.

"Why was there fire on you?"

"Miss Zerbst, please move to the side and let Miss Vallière take her turn."

Kirche nodded and walked over to join Tabitha while Louise stepped forward.

"My familiar that exists somewhere in this universe. My brave and wise familiar, come to my aid and follow my guidance. APPEAR!"

For a moment there was nothing, then suddenly there was an explosion that knocked everybody off their feet. When the smoke cleared, another human male was seen sitting in the small crater. This one looked about seventeen and wore a blue jacket and black jeans and had black hair. The students again stared at the odd summon.

"Another human?"

Colbert was confused, humans weren't supposed to be familiars. He decided to investigate it later and hurried Louise to finish the ritual.

"Um, please finish the ritual."

Louise walked up to the boy and said the binding words.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar."

Like Kirche before her, Louise leaned in and kissed the boy, and like Ace before him, the boy cried out in pain as runes appeared on his hand, only this time, they stayed.

"I believe that will be all, everyone please return to their dorms."

As the students all started to leave, Louise and Kirche decided to meetup to discuss things and try to figure out why they both summoned humans. They met up in Louise's room and questioned their familiars.

As the students left, Louise headed back to her room with her familiar. Unbeknownst to her, a certain redhead had grabbed Ace and followed her. As Kirche was about to open the door, a loud explosion was heard and she suddenly could understand Ace's protests.

'Zero must have tried casting a translation spell, amazing how it actually worked, albeit with the explosion still part of the spell.'

"It was supposed to be a silencing spell!"

'Or not...'

Kirche then barged into Louise's room with Ace in tow.

"Louise!"

"Zerbst… What are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to work together to understand our familiars since they were both humans."

"Fine, I suppose it is a valid reason, but only this once Zerbst!"

"Right, right Louise. So first things first, who are you?"

"I'm Saito Hiraga, I'm a high school student from Tokyo, Japan."

"I'm Portgas D. Ace, also known as Fire Fist Ace and I'm from Dawn Island in the East Blue."

"Portgas D. Ace? You mean Luffy's brother from One Piece?!"

"Oh? You know Luffy?!"

"You dog! Stop talking to Kirche's familiar! I'm your master and you should only be looking at me!"

Puzzled by the places mentioned, Kirche decided to further inquire on the subject.

"Where is the East Blue and Japan? Are they cities from beyond the Rub' al Khali?"

"What part of the New World is Japan and the Rub' al Khali in? For that matter, where is this place? I've been all over the four seas, the Grand Line and even some places in the New World, but I've never seen a place like this."

"Rub' al Khali…?"

It was then that Saito finally realized where he had ended up.

"Why did I have to end up as Louise's familiar in this Anime… Why couldn't I have been Kirche's instead! I know I had the same name but really?!"

"Ugh, this is going nowhere! Kirche, go back to your room, I need to teach this dog a lesson about loyalty…"

"Eek!"

"I bid you farewell then Zero Louise, come Ace, we have much to discuss back at our room."

Hearing the accursed nickname she was often called with, Louise gripped her wand tighter and her knuckles turned white. Knowing the scene that was likely to play out, Ace put one hand on Saito's shoulder and looked solemnly at him, only to suddenly flash a bright smile with a thumbs up.

"Good luck!"

Saito was close to tears when the Devil Fruit User left and he was left alone with his abusive master. As Ace closed the door behind him, he felt the wind shoot out through the gaps between the door and its frame as an explosion was heard with the sound of a screaming boy drowned out by it.

* * *

Settled in Kirche's room, Ace sat on a chair while Kirche laid seductively on her bed.

"So how do you want to know this? Equal exchange of information?"

"Sure, I'll start since you already said some back in Louise's room. Since you seem to be from somewhere no one has heard of, I'll begin with our location, we are currently in the Tristain Magic Academy on the continent of Halkeginia."

"Never heard of it."

"Thought so, as for where I'm from, I'm from Germania but came here to study magic. My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst and my runic name is Kirche the Ardent. Feel free to call me Kirche though, in exchange do you mind me calling you Ace?"

"Fine by me."

"Magic exists in this land and I'm a Fire mage by nature, there are four other elements, Water, Earth, Air and the lost Element, Void."

"Where I'm from there are these special fruits which gives the eater special powers, I ate the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame Flame Fruit), a Logia type fruit. There are two other types, Zoan and Paramecia."

"I'm a triangle class mage, the system here works such that dots can use one elements, lines can use or stack two and etcetera until square."

"We don't really have much of a ranking system back home but if we use bounties I guess mine should rank really high, definitely somewhere in the top hundred or so."

"Bounties?"

"Oh right, my world is one where up to half the population are pirates and I'm the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, led by the strongest man in the world, Edward Newgate!"

'Speaking of which… I wonder what happened to the old man…'

"Pirates?! You aren't going to do anything to me are you?"

"Don't worry, you quite literally pulled me out of hell when you summoned me so I owe you my life."

"That's a relief, for now we should get some rest though, we seem to have been talking for the whole day. You can sleep with me until I get a proper bed for you I guess."

"I'll be fine with this cushion, I've slept in worse conditions before."

"Suit yourself, one last question before that though Ace…"

"Hmm?"

"Why did the runes disappear when I tried to bind you?"

"No idea, maybe the Sea Devil in the Devil Fruit didn't want to let you?"

"Well not that it matters, it's not like you'll leave me right?"

"Got nowhere else to go anyways."

"Goodnight Ace."

"Night, Kirche."

With that, Kirche extinguished the flame of the lamp with her wand and went to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Well there's my rewrite of the story with some added content, I'm going to feel bad telling Ace about what happened to Whitebeard though… For now it will stay like this and I will continue it in the future. Review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile.


	2. Chapter 2: Guiche de Gramont

A/N: I think I will be adding snippets of Saito and Louise into the story since I think it will be interesting to see how Saito adapts to his new surroundings knowing how things will unfold.

* * *

Saito woke up and, knowing what would happen if he disobeyed, immediately set about to getting his master's clothes washed and a new uniform prepared. That wasn't to say he would be submissive, no not at all, he knew what would happen in this world and understood the importance of his position. Louise had to live if he ever wanted to return, but it was difficult fighting off the mind bending of the runes, whenever he thought of ways to go against her, those thoughts would be forcefully wiped from his mind.

'I'm going to need to convince her to like me enough to send me back willingly but I also need to find out how Ace's presence will change things, I might end up not needing to fight at all. Then again, her damn noble pride will get in the way and she will claim that she doesn't need the help of a Zerbst…'

Saito used what little time he had left to sit down and think.

'I can only see one way to turn this around and still maintain my rights but I really doubt she will like the idea… I need Ace's help if I'm going to even have a chance at this.'

After the morning routine, Louise left Saito for the dining hall and he went to wait for Ace outside Kirche's door. He appeared shortly with Kirche in tow.

"Kirche, I need to have a chat with Ace, would you mind?"

"Well sure, I'll get some servants to send some food up, you want some?"

"That would be appreciated, thank you."

Kirche left them to their talk and the two sat at a table in Kirche's room.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"A lot, first off I'll begin with who I am, I am a regular teenager from another world. There are currently three worlds you need to know about, this one, mine, and yours. In the world I'm from, this world and yours are both Animes."

"Anime?"

"A television show."

"Wait, so I'm like some actor?"

"No, I'm not sure but based on what I know about the Physics' Many Worlds Theory, apparently with every Anime created, a new world is born which plays out the events of the Anime."

"So your world is like some sort of master world which creates others?"

"You could say it that way. But back to the main issue, I know how this world is going to play out and it is not going to be easy to go back. My master is the key to our return and as you may have noticed, she is a bitch, so we are going to need to do a bunch of things if we are even going to consider leaving."

"Well I guess it's fine by me but what do you have in mind?"

"In a few days, a large golem will attack the school and some pompous blond noble might challenge one of us to a duel."

"And you want me to deal with these events?"

"Yea, I'm going to need you to buy me some time while I deal with Louise so that it'll be easier to go home."

"Sure, though I'm getting hungry, where's the servant?"

As if on cue, a knock came from the door and a certain black haired maid walked in.

"Ah Siesta, I almost forgot about you."

"Um, I'm sorry sir but how do you know my name?"

"Er, Kirche mentioned you!"

"Oh, okay, well I'll be heading to my other duties now then, here is your food."

"Thanks."

The maid left and the two began to eat.

"So Saito, what's up? Kirche never said anything about her."

"She will get forced into the service of an abusive noble after the two afore mentioned events and you need to rescue her, I can't risk too many alterations to the timeline."

"Alright, but I'm curious, what was the result of the war?"

"We lost."

Ace paled slightly but knew it was likely to happen.

"What about White Beard, he's fine right?!"

"I'm sorry… Ace, he didn't make it…"

"No… It can't be!"

Ace's body started to turn to fire and Saito looked around anxiously. He spotted a pail of water and dumped it over Ace's head before he could get out of hand.

"Calm down, Luffy's still alive!"

News of his brother's safety seemed to calm him down a little bit.

"Who killed him?"

"Black Beard dealt the final blow and took his Devil Fruit."

"Grr, that bastard… What else is there! Did anything else happen Saito!?"

"Sabo's alive!"

"He's what…"

"He's alive, and in Dressrosa fighting with Luffy."

Ace's heart was in turmoil as the happy and sad events fought to take control over what he should feel.

"How long have I been dead?"

"A little over two years Ace."

"They should be over my death by now I guess, thanks for telling me this Saito, I know it wasn't easy for you…"

"Ace…"

"I need some time to think, I'll help you in your plan but I need to be alone for now, tell Kirche for me."

"Alright."

Ace flew out of the window and academy grounds into the nearby woods. He landed in a clearing in the forest and started to set the place ablaze in rage. The wildfire continued until it engulfed the entire patch of greenery and Ace sat on the ground, his anger released somewhat.

'What am I supposed to do… White Beard died but Sabo's alive… What is this, some kind of compensation?!'

Ace smashed his fist into the ground in frustration, leaving a black patch of scorched earth.

'No… I have no one to blame but myself, if I hadn't gone after Black Beard, if I hadn't gotten captured, this wouldn't have happened… White Beard would be alive along with Sabo, the only thing I can do now is go back there and help Luffy, its the least I can do after dying on him like that. He must have been in a lot of pain, take care of him until I get back, Sabo!'

Ace straightened his hat and headed back to the academy, it was already high noon. His stomach rumbled and he headed to find some food. Walking around, he found a place serving cakes and he approached it. On his way there, some blond noble dropped a bottle as he was about to sit down.

With expert skill, Ace kicked the bottle upwards with his foot and caught it before placing it on the noble's table and walking away. He met up with Kirche and proceeded to consume a ton of cakes, earning gasps of amazement as he ate most of the slices whole. Just as Ace was about to eat another slice, he heard someone call out to him from behind.

"You there! Commoner! How dare you sully the reputation of two noble women!"

"What?"

"If you had the tact not to place the bottle on the table while I was with Katie, this wouldn't have happened."

Noticing the two red marks on the boys cheeks, Ace burst out laughing.

"No matter how you look at it, you were two timing and got caught!"

The crowd which had previously gathered laughed as Guiche's lie was exposed.

"Foolish commoner! I will teach you how to properly treat nobles! I challenge you to a duel!"

Ace's smiled faded at those words.

'This must be the pompous brat Saito spoke of, I wonder what he meant by deal with him, I think he might have meant kill them. Yea, I'll do that to be safe.'

"I'll accept your duel, just make sure not to cower away when I destroy you, we're fighting this to the death!"

"This commoner believes he can win, haha!"

The crowd burst out laughing at Ace, who was to them a commoner who had no chance of winning, declared he would kill Guiche.

"You must be mad, there's no way a commoner can beat a noble!"

Just then, a certain red haired Zerbst ran towards her familiar.

"Ace!"

"Oh, Kirche!"

"Ace, what are you doing? You'll get killed!"

"Oh relax, I used to deal with chumps like him on a daily basis."

Kirche looked unconvinced but let Ace go.

"So when and where will the duel be you pompous blonde fop?"

"Grr, now at Vestri Court you insolent commoner!"

The two headed to the location and stood across one another.

"My runic name is Guiche the Bronze so this bronze valkyrie will be your opponent!"

"I'm Fire Fist Ace, prepare yourself!"

Chatter could be heard from the crowd.

"Fire Fist? Is he a mage?"

"He has a runic name?"

"He's a mage?"

Guiche began the duel, sending his spear wielding valkyrie at Ace.

"Go my valkyrie!"

The metal golem charged at Ace and readied its spear, piercing its target. Everyone closed their eyes, afraid of the blood that would be spilled, only to open them shortly after when no scream of pain was heard. Looking back at the commoner, they saw a hole of flames where the spear had stabbed.

"This level of attack… Won't work!"

Ace grabbed the spear with a hand of fire and melted it, melting the entire golem after.

"Now it is my turn…"

 **"Hotarubi!"** (Firefly Light!)

Many orbs of green light formed from Ace's hands and travelled around Guiche who promptly summoned up several golems to shield him from the strange orbs. The firefly like green orbs of fire surrounded Guiche and Ace smirked.

 **"Hidaruma!"** (Fiery Doll!)

The green orbs suddenly converged onto Guiche, melting through the golems and burning him.

"Ahh!"

Cries of pain could be heard from the boy as he was set on fire and rolled on the ground to attempt to extinguish the flames, to no avail. A female blonde haired mage from the crowd rushed to his side and tried to put out the flames her water magic but the fire was so hot the water was boiled away immediately.

"Guiche no!"

The boy tumbled for the next few seconds and the onlookers watched helplessly. As the flames subsided, all that remained of him was a burnt charred skeleton. The people in the crowd ran off as he put an end to the noble, only Kirche remained who quickly pulled Ace into her room.

"Ace! You are drawing too much attention, by killing a noble you are going to get executed!"

"It was a mutually agreed duel to the death, if your world is so corrupt that they would hang me even after a fair fight then I will not hesitate to burn down all who oppose me…"

"Ace, you can't!"

"I will not stand for this, I've barely been here a day and I can already tell that most of the nobles here are like the Celestial Dragons!"

"Celestial Dragons?"

"The nobles of my world… They are the descendents of the World Government's founders, snobby bastards who refuse to even breathe the same air as us. They are despicable beings who have a free pass to do anything they desire from taking anyone as a slave to commanding the Marines to do their bidding."

"That sounds horrible!"

"It isn't much different from what some of the nobles do here right?"

"No… Not really…"

"Kirche, I'm strong… So if I ever get too angry, well, be careful for when I accidentally burn the country down."

"You're not joking are you?"

Ace shook his head.

"I'm one of the strongest of my world and I honestly doubt even the strongest of your magics would be able to touch me. By eating the Mera Mera no Mi I can become fire at will to avoid any and all physical attacks. I've taken down entire armies on my own and I doubt anyone in your world has the Haki to stop me."

"Haki?"

"Back in my world, people with incredibly strong willpower could manifest it into a boost for their physical attacks and it is the only way to harm me."

"You aren't afraid that I'll betray you?"

"Hardly, I haven't known you for long but I can tell, you're a good person."

"Ace…"

"I need some time alone to calm down, sorry."

Kirche watched silently as Ace left the room.

* * *

A/N: I seemed to have written more than expected, how nice. Anyway, if Ace seems a bit out of character cut me some slack, he's been through some serious emotional trauma and is conflicted about what to feel. I will cycle through my stories and come back to this once I'm done or when I feel like it. Review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum.


	3. Chapter 3: Our Torch

A/N: Welcome to the third chapter, man I got too caught up in gaming and didn't feel like writing anything but I'm here now so I can get this out at least. I was also slightly discouraged because I discovered that I apparently have a hater base now such as this fellow right here from Commander of Zero:

 _Guest: OMG you give this story to LZW ive seen his storys he never finishes them in years he cant do shit ive read hes storys there fucking awful what were you thinking._

Come on, the longest I've taken to complete a story is literally a little over a year so it's quite an exaggeration to say I take years to finish them. As for me being an awful writer, well I'm sorry but at least my grammar is acceptable. I'm going to write regardless of what you think and besides, at least I finish my stories which is better than leaving people hanging like others. When they are finished, people in the future can read them till completion without waiting.

As for Mr Guest, If you dislike my writing then fine, go ahead and don't read my stories but can you not slander me? Why don't you instead vote on the poll for the option of me writing a story where I suffer? Wouldn't that be a good way to sate your anger at me? I've already requested the author to take back his story if you are really this mad at me though, he has agreed to take it back so kindly refrain from such vulgarness in the future.

Well enough of that, on to the story!

* * *

Ace sat atop a tree branch of a tree in one of the open areas of the academy while thoughts of his current situation continually plagued his mind.

'I'm in another world revived from the dead where the only way home is through some noble brat who my only true comrade, Saito, is working on getting to cooperate. I wonder what I'm even going to do once I get home, Luffy and the others will surely be shocked that I just suddenly came back to life. Dammit why am I even thinking about this now, Saito never even told me how long it would take before we got home. For all I know, it could take years before the girl manages to get us back home…'

As his thoughts swirled around in his mind, he was suddenly approached by Saito.

"Ace!"

"Hmm? Oh Saito!"

"I need you to buy me more time, Louise is being difficult."

"Well I've already dealt with Guiche."

"What did you do with him?"

"I killed him."

Saito paled for a moment at his words.

"This isn't good Ace, you weren't supposed to kill the guy! He is the key to a later part of the story!"

"Oops…"

"Well, I guess I know where she is roughly so it should still be somewhat okay without him but his father will still be pissed…"

"His dad is some big shot here?"

"He's the general of this country's army, but nevermind that, you need to leave the golem's commander alive, she plays a role in the future which is irreplaceable, but make sure to scare her sufficiently."

"Then what about the incident with Siesta?"

"Feel free to kill the noble, nothing will likely happen since he does not appear again, alternatively you can use Kirche's family heirloom to bribe him."

"Alright, sorry about the Guiche thing…"

"It's fine, better you than me honestly, in the original story I got my ass kicked trying to survive."

"Haha, well okay but what are you actually doing to the girl?"

"I'm 'training' her to be less violent for one thing, for now I need to hurry back so I'll give you the details when I get back."

"Wait, Saito! How long will it take for us to get home?"

Saito stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment before turning back to Ace.

"About a year I guess…"

"Okay thanks."

Saito walked off back into the academy a few moments later and left Ace alone in the courtyard. The Devil Fruit User returned to his resting spot atop the tree and mentally prepared himself for the challenges up ahead.

'A year huh… I mean I guess it's better than nothing, I wonder how much Luffy would have changed in three years… I bet he will get a bunch of strong guys in his crew and become the Pirate KIng, just like he always dreamed of and I'll be there to see him as the man with the most freedom in the world...'

A knock on the tree's trunk stirred Ace from his thoughts, it was the soon to be stolen maid, Siesta. He looked down from his perched position at the maid.

"Yo Siesta, what's up?"

"Miss Kirche is looking for you, she said it was important."

"Ah okay, tell her I'll head to her room after a quick bite."

"Very well."

Ace went to the kitchen and was welcomed in a grand fashion by the head chef Marteau.

"Come, feast to your heart's content, Our Torch!"

"Torch?"

"Yes, it is our moniker for you, it is to show respect to you who rose up and like a bright hope to all commoners, took down the noble who had long plagued our academy. He has always been flirting with the staff, threatening them with his father's name."

"You aren't afraid of me?"

"No mage can cast without a wand, you are no mage, nor are you a noble, you are a fellow brother!"

Being around them, Ace felt a familiar sense of kinship, one he felt he had been without for too long. It reminded him of his crewmates and allies.

'Right… I've been so concerned with Luffy that I've forgotten about Marco and the rest of them, I wonder what happened to them once Whitebeard passed…'

"What's wrong Our Torch?"

"Oh it's nothing, just thinking of the past."

"You should look to the future while remembering the past, not live in it. Come, feast!"

Ace now took notice of the massive table of food in front of him and brightened up considerably.

"Woah, you made all this for me?"

"Well it is the best we can scrounge up really, it's leftovers from the noble's last meal."

"I've eaten worse before but this is just amazing for leftovers."

"They're a wasteful bunch, I manage to save some of this by adding it to their next meal usually but not all of it can be reused."

"Well you're in luck, I happen to be hungry."

Ace walked out of the room in a few moments with a bloated belly while waving goodbye to the staff. Marteau's jaw hung wide open as he continued to stare at the emptied table. It was littered with bones and empty bowls, everything had been consumed by Ace, he left nothing the wake of his devouring rampage. Strangely though, there was no large mess, as if it had been eaten without any spillage or food falling.

* * *

Ace entered Kirche's room after his stomach had returned to its original state and he noticed her sitting on a chair next to a table sipping a cup of tea. She had looked towards the doorway upon hearing it open and saw that Ace had arrived.

"You wanted something?"

"Yea, there's a familiar talent show in a few days and you will need to do a performance."

"I'm not some circus monkey Kirche…"

"I know, but the school has made this compulsory."

"I won't have to demean myself or anything right?"

"No, just show off your skills and abilities."

"Well okay I guess, I do owe you one I guess…"

"Great, it just has to be a short show so just use one of your moves that looks the most amazing or something!"

"That might actually burn down the academy so I'll try something else."

"Right, forgot you were strong, sorry."

"It's alright, I have the perfect move in my mind to use for the show already."

"Well can you show it to me?"

"It'll be a surprise, though don't worry, I'll make sure to dazzle the crowd with it."

"Well okay, I'll trust you on that, do you need anything for the showcase?"

"Hmm, no, just make sure it's a wide open area."

"I'll inform the staff then, it's tomorrow if I'm not wrong though, is that enough time to prepare?"

"It's plenty, just sit back and watch the show."

"I'll be waiting then…"

Ace left afterwards and looked up to the sky, it was calming in a way, it was the only thing even remotely similar to what was back home. The sun shone brightly and the clouds slowly drifted as Ace laid atop one of the academy's towers. He listened to the sound of the wildlife in the adjacent forest and heard the calls of birds and the running of water down a stream where animals gathered.

'I wonder what Saito is doing to Louise, he's barely been out, I don't even know where he is…'

Ace dismissed the thought from his mind and decided to trust in Saito.

'I should focus on my job which is to deal with the golem and the noble who will take Siesta.'

Ace's mind continued to drift through many different thoughts as he listened to the new sounds of this world. Slowly unconsciousness took him as the serenity of his surroundings sunk in. He awoke an hour later to discover that the sun was now setting, he got off the tower carefully and headed to the front of the academy to exit through the gates inconspicuous.

He had learned that standing out would get him into more trouble than it would be worth and refrained from using his powers to fly over the wall or simply jump over it. At the main gate, just as he thought he would be able to get some peace of mind with some fresh forest air, a carriage rushed through the gates, startling him.

The carriage doors opened to reveal a grand looking noble who immediately surveyed the area with a judging gaze, as if looking for someone. He spotted Ace and looked like he was about to make a move but paused when the academy's main doors opened to reveal Colbert and the Headmaster who walked up to the man. The Headmaster made the first move.

"What an unexpected surprise, what might the reason for your visit, General Antoine de Gramont."

While not obvious, both Colbert and Osmond were sweating slightly due to how nervous they were, after all, the man's son was literally just killed a few hours and he had appeared for no reason. They had yet to have the chance to even send an owl messenger to him about the incident.

"Enough with the act, you know why I'm here."

"Yes… Unfortunately, Guiche de Gramont has perished in a duel a few hours prior."

General Gramont pointed to Ace who was leaning against the academy walls after having decided to watch the scene cautiously from a distance, knowing it might involve him.

"I assume he is the man responsible?"

"Yes, he is the familiar of Kirche von Zerbst but I assure you this was not an attempt to start a war, based on my analysis, it was rather your son which initiated the conflict."

"Hmm, that I can believe, Guiche was always the odd one out in the family, having taken after his mother, he could never meet the expectations we had for him and so we pulled him out of military training and put him in the Magic Academy in hopes he would develop in other areas. However, is it not strange for a human to become a familiar?"

Colbert stepped up and addressed the question.

"I was the facilitator of the ritual and can testify that he is indeed her summon."

"I see, I hear he is a commoner with some unique abilities."

"Yes, based on the duel, he apparently has control over fire but requires no incantation or medium to do so. He is not an elf either so ancient magic is out of the question but the most curious thing is that he seems to be made of fire."

"Made of fire?"

"Indeed, in the fight itself, when a spear ran through him, all that it did was open a flaming hole in his abdomen."

"I must see this for myself."

"I would advise against it General, he is not to be trifled wi-"

"I shall decide who is worthy of taking seriously Headmaster, you best get ready an explanation for why you did not prevent the death of my son despite my multiple reminders to keep him out of duels."

Osmond stiffened at the tone of the man and sunk away to his office to prepare the report, leaving Colbert to deal with the General. Antoine walked up to Ace and eyed him warily.

"So, I heard you killed my son."

"I assume you are the father of that pompous blonde fop of a mage then?"

"If you are referring to Guiche then yes. You are said to have a special ability, I would like to witness it myself first hand."

"You want to fight me?"

"In a matter of speaking yes, but it shall be a simple duel to assess the other's ability, nothing too lethal."

"How do I know you won't burst into rage and attempt to avenge your son?"

"I am a man of my word, what is a noble without his honor?"

"Very well, we shall fight in the same place you son did then, in Vestri Court."

"I shall give you an hour to prepare, not that I assume you'll need it."

"Heh…"

The two headed their separate ways and Ace decided to inform Kirche of it before he actually fought. Along the way, thoughts swirled in Ace's head regarding the development.

'I don't think this is the golem incident Saito was talking about. He seems to be an earth mage like his son but I think me killing Guiche must have caused this to happen, I need to be more careful of what I do. Although, he did not seem too angry at me for killing his flesh and blood, the nobles here really don't value someone who is useless do they? He seemed genuinely curious about my ability though, almost like he wanted to use me in some way… I wonder how Saito will react to this happening…'

As Ace climbed the stairs leading up to Kirche's room, thoughts continued to plague his mind.

* * *

A/N: I think I have found a good name for Guiche's father in Antoine as Guiche was based off Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche whose father was named Antoine III de Gramont. Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit dull. As for the reason for my lack of updates I shall give the usual reason most other authors give and say that my exams are coming up and I am in senior year so I don't have as much free time, it's true though. As usual, review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories, community and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum.


	4. Chapter 4: Antoine de Gramont

A/N: Wow this is quick, I thought it would take longer than this to cycle back here. So here it is I guess, the Ace vs Guiche's father fight. If you like the story so far be sure to check out my poll.

* * *

"Huh!? He challenged you to a duel!?"

"Yea, I didn't see any harm in it."

"Hmm, well I guess it won't hurt, it's not like he knows this Haki thing that can hurt you."

"Exactly, so I'll pretty much just be standing there while he attacks what is essentially air."

"Just come back unscathed."

"Right."

Ace got up from his seat and had his handle on the door when Kirche suddenly called out to him.

"Ace, I forgot to ask, have you seen Louise these few days, she's been gone for quite a while…"

'Damn, people are getting suspicious, Saito, please hurry up.'

"No idea, maybe she went to the capital for a trip?"

"Possibly, well go and prepare for your duel, I'll be watching so make me proud."

"Don't worry, I will."

As Ace left, Kirche looked out the window deep in thought.

'I hope this doesn't start an international incident, I would hate to get deported, there are so many fun men here in Tristain…'

* * *

After enjoying a sumptuous meal of leftovers in the kitchen, Ace walked out of the room with a bloated belly and once again used Haki to shrink it down. He walked leisurely to Vestri Court and saw that somehow the rumor of the duel had spread as a large crowd of students had formed. He saw them part in fear as he approached before breaking out into cheers at the arrival of Guiche's father.

"Put that bastard in his place!"

"Kill him!"

"Teach him what happens when you mess with the nobles!"

"Bury him!"

"Silence!"

The one who ordered the silence was Professor Colbert who had been called to witness the duel. He then turned to the participants.

"Now then, do any of you wish to put in play any special rules?"

Ace considered the idea for a moment and shook his head. Colbert then turned to Antoine.

"I guess we should add a time limit to stop add incase there is no victor."

"Very well, the duel shall last for fifteen minutes then. Now begin!"

Antoine made the first move and summoned up his own golem. Unlike his son's, these golems were exquisitely refined and were made of what looked to be iron.

"I am Antoine the Iron Mage and so I will test your abilities with this Iron Maiden!"

Gesturing his sword wand forwards, Antoine willed his Iron Maiden to attack. The intimidating golem rushed forwards towards Ace at an incredible speed for its weight and began its assault. The golem wielded a short sword and tried to land a hit on him but his superior agility honed through years of combat and training allowed him to dodge each and every one of the stabs and slashes with ease.

"You aren't half bad at actual combat, although I question if you are taking me seriously considering you have yet to even attempt to attack me."

"This is a test of each other's abilities right? I'm just testing the aptitude of your golem."

"Well then I guess I should make things more interesting."

The general waved his sword wand at the ground and a pair of golems rose out from the earth, each wielding different weapons. One held a shield while the other used a pike. The one with the shield rushed Ace and attempted to ram into him as the one with the short sword distracting him jumped away. Seeing that, he jumped and landed atop the one with a pike before yanking it out of its metallic hands and tossing it at the one with the short sword, destroying it.

"You are really determined not to demonstrate your ability to control fire aren't you?"

"After the incident with your son, I doubt anything in this world would survive if I went all out."

"Quite a bold claim…"

"One that I will stand by until you or someone else actually becomes a notable threat."

"Well then I guess I should stop holding back."

Pointing his sword wand at the nearby earth, he chanted a spell and earthen spears formed at an angle before shooting out at an astonishing rate at Ace.

 **"Piercing Earth!"**

"Oh, that could actually get dangerous."

Fending off the Iron Maiden whom he stole the weapon from, Ace stole the shield of the other and hid behind it as the spears impacted against it. When the wave of projectiles finally halted, he threw the shield at the general and with strong punches, took out both Iron Maidens by punching a hole straight through them. An earth wall came up to block the shield but Antoine was surprised at the level of skill the boy displayed.

'This man is easily the strongest fighter in all of Halk if this is merely a fraction of his power…'

It was then that Ace saw out of the corner of his eye, a water whip lashing out at him from behind the audience. Noticing it a bit too late to dodge, he set his body ablaze and boiled off the liquid based weapon before it hit him. He then cursed internally as he realized he had accidentally showed his power but shrugged it off realizing the general probably wouldn't have let him go unless he did.

"Enough of a display for you Antoine?"

"Yes, however I am rather displeased that someone would interfere in our duel. We shall end it for now, I have some important business to attend to. Colbert, I trust you will properly reprimand the one who interrupted our fight."

"Yes general."

Antoine boarded his carriage and headed back to the capital to make a report of his discovery. As the crowd dispersed, Kirch went up to Ace and congratulated him on a job well done while a certain blonde alchemist was called to one side by the duel witness to be scolded. Ace said his farewells to Kirche after a short talk, as he wanted to get some time to relax away from people, and left.

Exiting out the main gates of the academy, he saw the general's carriage in the distance kicking up a cloud of dust, it seemed he hurried his horses to reach his destination earlier. Ace sighed as he thought of the implications this duel would have but put them away for later consideration, wanting to focus on finding a good spot to think before he started worrying about things. He eventually found a clearing in the forest untouched by his rage filled rampage and sat down on a nearby fallen tree.

'This duel may cause issues, if he's going where I think he's going, then there are bound to be tons of political issues that can arise from this. This timeline is going to diverge from the one Saito knows because of me, if I had stopped to consider that this wasn't my world, that people didn't die as often here, I might have refrained from killing that blonde kid…'

Ace looked up towards the darkening sky.

'If I weren't here, Saito might've been able to do everything exactly as he knew and escape, but now I've messed things up…'

Unbeknownst to Ace, another person had also come to the forest, a certain blue haired, staff wielding student. She arrived only recently and had hid behind a tree when she noticed someone occupying her usual seat. She did not want to disturb him but watched him silently, curious about him due to his abilities.

"Was it good that I was reborn?"

Not realizing he had said it aloud, Ace continued ponder the question in his mind while the watcher sank away, feeling she had heard too much, into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

The next few days passed mostly uneventfully and Ace got a little insecure when Saito didn't appear at all. To get his mind off the thought, he decided to start exercising and trained daily. On one of his training sessions on the day before the talent show, he realized that none of the events Saito mentioned had occurred for a while.

'Saito never did tell me when the golem was going to attack specifically…'

Contemplating the thought in his mind, Ace continued his routine sit ups.

'Kirche mentioned that the Princess would be visiting so I guess if there was any day to attack it would be then, the guards will probably be pulled from the important areas to instead guard the royal figure. I better be on guard then…'

The day passed uneventfully and the talent showcase itself was dull up till Ace's turn with the most dazzling act being Tabitha's dragon. Ace took to the stand and everyone who knew of him took cover in fear he would use a terrifying move that would kill them. The princess merely looked in awe and wondered what the students were so afraid of before Cardinal Mazarin, her advisor, informed her this was possibly the man the general had warned her about.

 **"Enkai!"** (Flame Commandment!)

Ace swung his outstretched hand around him and gathered a large amount of flames.

 **"Hiryuu!"** (Fire Dragon!)

The flames enveloped Ace as he rose atop them and they took the shape of a great dragon made of fire with his upper body emerging from its head. As everyone stood awestruck by the feat, a large pound could be heard in the distance as a thief hammered away at the academy walls in an effort to break it down.

'Couldn't have timed it better…'

Ace commanded his flames to move and the dragon took to the sky, slithering across the air towards the golem before ramming into the center of the rock construct, boiling it through with the intense heat. The golem could no longer maintain its structure with its core gone and the mage controlling it jumped off, landing just outside the wall and fleeing into the forest in time before Ace could turn his attention to her.

Seeing no trace of the attacker after dealing with the golem, Ace dispersed his flames wondering if that would be enough of a scare that it achieved the effect Saito wished for. He landed and found himself surrounded by guards which parted to reveal the Princess. Noticing Kirche was next to her with a smile on her face, he relaxed and looked at the Princess.

"It was most valiant of you to protect this academy Familiar, you have my thanks. However, I am afraid I will need your help in identifying the perpetrator. Please follow me to the Headmaster's office where we will discuss this matter in depth."

"Sure, as long as Kirche can come along."

"Of course she will, now we must make haste, lest the thief escape."

The group made their way up to the office as the sun shined brightly in the sky, indicating it was about noon.

* * *

A/N: Seeing as I had the time, I took the liberty of compiling a bunch of facts and figures from the ZnT universe from a forum into a document. I will be constantly updating it as I read more into things but if anyone wants, I can send it to them to help in their writing. Do note that these may not be completely accurate but do make a good amount of sense and fit in well enough. It is currently in its early stages and may lack proper organization so prepare for messy reading.

As usual, review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories and community. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum.


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